Related Content

Making remarks about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said "we are making things so simple that you can do your taxes on a form the size of a postcard."

On cue, Rep. Kevin Brady, the Texas lawmaker who led the House Ways and Means Committee in crafting the bill, pulled out a postcard bearing the title "Simple, Fair 'Postcard' Tax Filing."

US House Ways and Means Committee

It's not the first time the postcard has been mentioned or seen. Ryan called for it in a June speech, and the Ways and Means Committee showed off an updated version of the postcard as legislative work turned to tax reform in early October. The panel said tax-writing committees were even working on details for the smaller tax form.

President Donald Trump even seems to love the idea, jokingly giving one of the postcards a kiss during a meeting with lawmakers later Thursday.

"The only people that aren't going to like this are H&R Block," he said.

President Trump just kissed a postcard on which he says most families would be able to file taxes under the GOP's new plan. pic.twitter.com/dZDAnHqZzn

The independent Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center scrutinized the form, finding that it may not be so simple as filling out 14 lines.

The center pointed out that multiple W-2s, sources of investment or savings plans lead to more calculations that will require more worksheets. It also identified other complications, such as how subtracting child credit is more involved for divorced parents with joint custody, and that the earned income credit has requirements that won't fit on one postcard line.

Even when it's completed, there are missing pieces, the center says.

"Where are Social Security benefits? Distributions from your pension, IRAs, and 401k’s? Unemployment compensation? Unless the plan makes all of that tax-free, you’ll need a place to report it."